


Interview with the Avatar

by pozorvlak



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Gen, Sports
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-12
Updated: 2016-09-12
Packaged: 2018-08-14 15:54:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8020015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pozorvlak/pseuds/pozorvlak
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Korra gives an interview to <i>Total Bending</i> magazine about what's changed in the sport of pro-bending since her brief playing career.</p><p>Contains spoilers galore for all four seasons.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Interview with the Avatar

_**Avatar Korra** needs no introduction, but only the most long-running **Total Bending** readers will remember her brief pro-bending career, when she played waterbender for the Future Industries Fire Ferrets all the way to a fiercely-contested (and highly controversial) League final. Now, in addition to her other Avatar duties, she’s involved in bendsport at all levels from Little League up to world championships. Somehow she found a few minutes to chat to **TB**!_

**TB:** When you were playing, corporate sponsorship was in its infancy and **TB** was a hand-printed zine handed out at matches by the editors. What else do you see as the major changes in the sport since that time?

 **AK:** You probably want me to talk about the impact of the Cheung Fade on Earth/Water face-offs and stuff like that, but as the Avatar, it's my job to think about the big picture, andit's hard to separate the changes to the sport from the changes to society as a whole. From that perspective, the most obvious change is that it's not confined to Republic City any more: when the artist formerly known as Prince Wu founded the Earth Federation, eased restrictions on travel and immigration, and normalised diplomatic relations with RC, he opened the door to the state-level leagues we see today. When Varrick invented the maglev network, he ushered in an era of cheap, rapid travel, and made possible the Future Industries Premier League. The spread of mass education out from the Fire Nation brought the idea of youth leagues, and the youth leagues mean we have a deep pipeline of talent - you couldn't go straight from beginner to pro like I did any more. But the biggest change is obviously harmonic convergence, and the return of airbending!

 **TB:** You’ve been an outspoken advocate of the new four-element code. What do you say to those who think that the addition of airbenders ruins the balance of the sport?

 **AK:** Three-element bendsport evolved in an era when people from the Fire Nation, Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes had just started to live together in Republic City, and it played an important role in helping them to meld into a coherent, unified society. During the Equalist Riots, watching pro-bending was one of the few things keeping benders and non-benders together. In those days the entire Air Nation was one family. But now there are airbenders everywhere. Are we going to shut airbender kids out? We may need a few more adjustments to the rules as people learn how to play the sport with airbenders involved, but there’s more at stake than just the sport here. I love bendsport, but it's my responsibility to bring balance to the world, and part of that is including airbenders. Four-element bendsport is the future.

 **TB:** Do you think there's room for the three-element and four-element codes to coexist?

 **AK:** Earth Wrestling still survives, so sure, why not? But I think it's going to become increasingly niche as the four-element form gains popularity.

 **TB:** What about more specialised forms of bending, like lavabending or lightning bending? Is there room for those in the sport too, or should their disciples invent their own games?

 **AK:** Excellent question! There are obvious safety issues with both of the disciplines you mention, which is why they're currently banned in competition. If we could find a way to make their use acceptably safe in a mixed-element environment then I’d be cautiously in favour of relaxing those rules, but if not then there's always room for specialist sports like Power Disc for metalbenders. I’d love to watch a sport for combustion-benders!

 **TB:** What do you think about proposals to revive the ancient Daisetsuzan Games as a four-yearly festival of all bending sports?

 **AK:** I think it's a great idea, and I'm currently lobbying hard for FIBA to get on-board with it. But my question is, why only bending sports? To get political again for a moment - sorry, but, you know, Avatar - I see the next big battle of my career as the struggle to bring equal rights and representation to non-benders. Amon was a psychopath, but he tapped into real and legitimate discontent. Sport can help in that fight, just as it has with so many social problems before.

 **TB:** Is that inspired by your marriage to a non-bender?

 **AK:** And my non-bender friends like Wu and the Varricks, and what I see around me every day, and basic justice. To give you a pertinent example: 60℅ of bendsport fans are non-benders, but there are _zero_ non-benders on the board of FIBA. But yes, my wife is insulated from most problems by her wealth and her marriage to the Avatar, and it's still infuriating to see the discrimination she puts up with.

 **TB:** Were you surprised when Zaheer was released from prison and hired as the coach for the Varrick Industries Zhu Lis?

 **AK:** Are you kidding? Zaheer is the greatest combined-elements tactician in _history_. The only question was whether Varrick or United Forces Special Ops would get him released on a technicality first.

 **TB:** I've heard he was offered a job by RCPD SWAT but he turned them down.

 **AK:** Really? Hah! I guess Chief Inspector Mako must think the same way I do.

 **TB:** You surprised a lot of people by speaking as a witness in Zaheer’s defence at his appeal, given your previous rivalry.

 **AK: __**"Rivalry" is an interesting term for attempted assassination and single combat to the death! But I talked to Zaheer a lot while he was in prison: I honestly believe he’s rehabilitated, and no longer a danger to society. Or to me, more to the point.

 **TB:** What do you think of his coaching style?

 **AK:** It’s brilliant, obviously. His teams have consistently been at the cutting edge of bendsport tactics and performance, constantly pushing the envelope. They’re always fascinating to watch, scintillating and unpredictable. Did you see the Zhu Lis’ last match against the Cabbage Corp Badger-Moles? Unreal. I just wish they didn’t argue with the referees so much.

**TB:** Your assistant is making “wrap this up” gestures at me, so I guess we're out of time here. Avatar Korra, thank you so much for talking to us!

 **AK:** Always a pleasure to talk to a fellow pro-bending fan! Actually, there's one more thing - I've still got a copy of the **TB** in which you wrote about my rookie debut, would you mind signing it?

 **TB:** Wow, that was not how I expected this interview to end. Can we get a photograph of this?


End file.
